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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. mate — a partner
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cold — an illness
  5. band — a music group
  6. game — a match
  7. cold — not warm
  8. game — wild animals
  9. object — a thing
  10. face — to confront
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — music
  14. face — to point toward
  15. swing — in golf
  16. band — a ring
  17. object — to protest
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a friend
  20. face — part of the head
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. object — an aim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com